Promptober Day 1: Warmth - Stucky
I'M BACK!... and late, sorry about that
But I decided to do promptober this year!
So have here the first day, I know I'm behind but I'll be trying to post daily!
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As soon as Steve stepped through the door he knew something was wrong. The heater had been turned off at some point and the whole place was freezing, so much so that Steve could see hos own breath coming out in small cloud-like puffs as he breathed. Steve closed the door behind him and flipped the light switch of the entrance on, as the room lit up, he knew that the heater being off wasn't due to lack of power.
He took off his shoes and changed them for his house slippers as he walked further inside his classic New York brownstone, deciding not to take his coat off until the place warmed up, super soldier or not he hated the cold, specially after spending the better part of a century frozen in the Arctic.
He and Bucky had moved here after they saved the universe, Steve decided that he couldn't go back to his past life, as it wasn't his anymore, or rather, it never was his. He had loved Peggy, and he fell for her fast and hard, but she had always been her second choice, back then loving someone of the same gender was not legal or even allowed. But in the present he could be himself, he could freely admit his love for both men and woman, there was even a term for it.
He came out as bisexual publicly, wanting to make it clear that as Captain America he'd defend everyone, since some people were still set in that mentality from the 40'S, especially people in Congress who tried to use his image and name for their own personal gain.
Now, he mostly worked as a consultant for the Avengers, giving up the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson and working towards retirement.
Bucky retired from that line of work as well, now focusing on refurbishing old motorcycles and giving them out to different charities to auction off.
They had mostly good days now, waking up in each other's arms, having easy and lazy mornings where they chose to sleep in, days where they went out with friends or to explore the city, remembering their childhoods and how things have changed. They would cook together or order something new to try and then when the sun went down and the moon came up they would get back in their bed and have sex. Sometimes it was slow and sweet, taking their time to bring the other one to climax, while other times they would be eager and impatient, clothes tearing apart and being thrown off, muffling screams of pleasure into pillows and desperately chasing climax together.
But there were also bad days.
Days that actually started in the middle of the night with one of them waking up screaming and drenched in cold sweat from memories that still haunted them, days where they closed every window and curtain int their house as if that'd would help to keep those haunting memories away. They would stay closed off to the world, searching comfort and warmth from each other, whispering soft words of encouragement or love, reassuring each other that they were now safe, that they deserved to rest and be happy together.
Today had started as a good day for them, Bucky had made them breakfast and even packed a lunch for Steve to take to his meeting at the Avengers tower. He had talked excitedly about a new book — something about an intergalactic traveler and spaceships, Bucky had called it corny but fun — that he was going to start reading that day while Steve was out.
Bucky even pulled him in for a good luck kiss before letting him leave.
Buy now their whole house was cold and dark, the only light on being the one that Steve had turned on when he walked in.
"Bucky?" Steve called out hesitantly as he walked into the main living room area, turning the lights on there as well and finding it empty, there was a blanket half draped over the couch and he same book Bucky showed Steve that morning ripped into two. The knot that was forming in Steve's stomach tightened as he was able to catch one of the words in the page that was visible.
Steve knew that was still a trigger for Bucky, something that his partner was working in therapy once a week but that he still struggled to face. Specially when it caught him off guard.
A day that was meant for relaxation and calmness, one that was gearing to be a good day was suddenly turned into a bad day for a book with no trigger warning or mention of the subjects that it talked about. Bucky had mentioned he found the book at the Young Adults Sci-fi section, a place where one wouldn't expect a book being placed there without an additional warning.
As Steve walked over to the thermostat, he noticed what was the problem. The casing was shattered into pieces, display broken and dials stuck. Bucky sometimes punched things when in a state of panic, that's why they didn't have many things that could be easily be broken or knocked over for their safety, and the things that could be broken were easy to replace. They never considered the thermostat system to be one of the things that could be caught in the crossfire.
Steve sighed and decided that that was a problem for future Steve to deal with, current Steve picked up the thrown blanket as well as every other blanket he could find in his way over to their bedroom, the door was slightly ajar and Steve could see Bucky sitting in the center, his knees drawn to his chest and his arms hugging his legs tightly.
"Bucky?" Steve tried again, his voice barely above a whisper as he pushed the door open a bit further, holding a large bundle of blankets with both hands as he walks in, the room is dark, only illuminated by the streetlights coming in through the window.
"Steve?" Bucky's voice came out broken and hoarse, looking up at Steve with red rimmed eyes and a tear streaked face, the knot on Steve's stomach tightened even more and he felt a pain in his chest, just over his heart, just by seeing Bucky, the love of his life, hurt this way.
"Oh sweetheart-" Steve's voice faltered as he spoke, so he chose to stay quiet and walk over to Bucky, offering his hand to the other man and pulling in Bucky into a warm embrace as soon as he took it. He let the blankets drop to the floor for now as he pulled Bucky close, wrapping his arms around him and rubbing his back to bring some warmth back into his cold body. Even with the serum, Bucky's lips were almost blue, and his skin had an even paler tint to it.
"I broke the thermostat…" Bucky spoke into Steve's shoulder, his voice muffled but Steve was still able to hear the fear and uncertainty in his voice.
"I know Buck, it's okay, I'll call someone tomorrow to get it fixed." Steve said reassuringly as he pulled back from the hug just long enough to pick up the blankets from the floor and wrap Winter with them so he could start to warm up. "For now, let's just go to a nice hotel for the night, we can order in some pizza and watch The Wizard of Oz together."
Bucky visibly perked up at the offer, the movie was a favorite for both of them as it reminded them of their lives before the war and before everything that happened afterwards, it was both nostalgic and comforting of them. Despite of how many times they've watched it they both still have that same feeling of awe when the movie turns from back and white to full technicolor.
"That sounds like a good idea, though I want burgers." Bucky said as he held the blanket tighter around his body and leaned into Steve as they started to walk out of their home.
"Sure, we can do burgers." Steve replied with a soft chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Bucky's waist as they walked.
"And hot chocolate, so I can warm up faster." Bucky said as he gave Steve a tired smile.
"Whatever you want, Buck, you know I'm with you."
"'Till the end of the line?"
"Yeah, 'till the end of the line."